Door operating apparatus



. 17, 1946. 4 H. B. CLARK DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l smb hm, .mxwo

Cforneg Dec., 17, E946,

H. E, QLARK v 1412,73

DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Fil'ed O01). 24, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIII- E?? g H, @LRK DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Filed oct. 24, 1944 Suvenfor Ctomeg 3 Shees-Sheet l? Patented Dec. 17, 1946 UNl'i'iED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Henry B. clark, Elizabeth, N. J'. Application October 24, 1944, Serial No. 560,144

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to mechanism for opening and closing doors of buildings, particularly doors which include two complemental sections movable toward and from each other in a doorway to close and open said door-way, respectively.

One object of the invention is to provide novel and improved simple, reliable and relatively inexpensive apparatus f or simultaneously moving said door sections toward and from each other to close and open the door-way, respectively.

Another object is to provide a combination of such a door-operating apparatus and novel and improved electrical means for actuating said apparatus which shall enable both the opening and the closing movements of the said apparatus t be controlled by only one simple manually operable element such as an electric switch and which may comprise any of several mechanical or elec trical methods and mechanisms.

A further object is to provide door-operating mechanism of the character described which shall embody novel and improved features of construction for stopping of operation of the doors by the actuating mechanism and thereby to ensure against injury to the doors or to a person or an object such as a truck or the like in case the doors should accidentally strike such person or object during operation of the doors.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is an inside elevational view of a wall of a structure having a door provided with operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2 2 of Figure l, sho-wing the doors in closed position by solid lines and in open position by dot and dash lines.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a similar View on the line `5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the line E-S of Figure 1, showing the selector switch and its relation to the guide track.

Figure 7 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuit for controlling operation of the motor which drives the door operating mechanism.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary inside elevational view of a modication of the invention, and

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Specically describing the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures l to 'l inclusive, thereierence character lil designates the wall of a garage, boat house, factory building or other structure having a door opening or doorway il which is provided with two inwardly swinging doors which are hingedly connected to the frame of the door-way by hinges l2 and each of which is composed of two sections or leaves i3 and i4 hinged together at l5. With this construction, the door sections 3 and le of the two doors may be swung into a common vertical plane to close the door opening as shown in Figure l and by solid lines in Figure 2 or may be swung inwardly oi the door opening to open the latter as shown by dot and dash lines in Figure 2. To insure proper folding and unfolding of the door sections, each encimost section i4 has secured thereto a bracket EE in which is journaled a guide roller EB which cooperates with a horizontal channel rail il which is stationarily mounted above the upper edges of the door on the wall nl in any suitable manner. As shown, the guide rail is connected to hangers i3 which are mounted by bolts i2 on the wallrlil above the door opening and support a guide track 2i] for the door operating mechanism.

The guide track 20 may be of any suitable construction but is shown as a horizontal split tube of rectangular cross section having a longitudinal slot 2l in its bottom wall. Slidable within the guide track and movable toward and from each other are two guide blocks 22, each of which may be or any suitable construction but is shown as comprising a sheet metal core 23 whose outside dimensions are smaller than the inside dimensions of the track 2li and to which are fastened shoes 24 of suitable material such as lignuin vitae. The shoes 24 have a free sliding Contact with the inner walls of the track 2B so as to smoothly guide the blocks in the track.

One guide block is connected to the section I3 of each door which is hingedly connected to the door frame and as shown, each door section i3 has an inwardly projecting arm 25 rigidly connected thereto and to which is pivotally connected at 2l one end of a link 28, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a stud 2i) which is secured in the corresponding guide block 22.

For simultaneously moving the guide blocks 22 toward and from each other, I utilize two eXible conectors 3B, preferably chains, each of which hasone end connected to one of the guide blocks 22 as at 3| and its other end connected to the other guide block as at 32. Adjacent each end of the track 2B and preferably within the track is a guide 33 over which passes the intermediate portion of one of the chains 32. Preferably the guides 33l are sprockets and one of them is driven so as to move the chains longitudinally upon rotation of the sprocket. With this construction, it will be seen that upon longitudinal movement of one of the chains 30 in opposite directions, the guide blocks 22 will be moved toward and from each other respectively so as to close and open the naled in bearings 39 on the track and has thereon a friction clutch which comprises a body section d keyed on the shaft 38 and a pulley section lil rotatable on the shaft and normally held in frictional contact with the body B by a compression spring e2. The pulley section lll is connected by a belt i3 to a smaller pulley lill on the shaft of an electric motor i5 which for convenience is mounted on the top of the track 2li.

In accordance with the invention the motor i5 is reversible and its operation to open and close the doors is controlled by a single simple switch that may be manually operated or might be automatically operated, such as a pneumatic switch in the iioor to be operated upon passage thereover of a truck. In the interest of simplicity of explanation, I have shown a simple push button switch fit which may be mounted in the wall Ill.

Connected in circuit with the switch iii is a known type of magnetic controller il for the motor 45, a gear limit switch lli? and a selector switch 49. The gear limit switch e8 may be of any suitable construction, for example as shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,221,324 dated November 12, 1940, and includes a driving spindle 5o connected to the shaft 3d on which the driving sprocket 33 for the chains 3i! is mounted. The switch also includes two terminal contacts 5| which are connected together and one of which is connected to one terminal of the push button switch 35 by a wire 52 while the other is connected by a wire 53 to one side of the electricity supply line. Each terminal contact 5l has cooperating therewith a contact arm 54 one of which is connected to one terminal of one holding switch 55 while the other is connected to one terminal of the other holding switch 55. The two arms 56 are actuated in known manner by rotation of the spindle 5D so that when one arm engages its corresponding terminal contact 5I, the other arm is disengaged from its contact 5i.

The selector switch its includes two terminal contacts 55 which are connected together and one of which is connected by a wire 51 to the other terminal of the push button switch 46. Cooperating with each of the contact terminals 56 is a contact arm 58 one of which is connected to the other terminal of one of said holdingv switches 55 while the other is connected to the other terminal of the other holding switch 55. The selector switch 49 is operated by one of the guide blocks 22 and may be of any suitable construction, for example such as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,343,867 dated March 7, 1944. For simplicity in explanation, have shown a modiiied construction in Figure 6 of the drawings wherein the switch includes a casing 59 of suitable insulating material which is mounted on a bracket 50 on the guide track 2d. The terminal contacts 55 are mounted on the walls of the casing as is also each of the contact arms 58, and said contact arms are shown as inherently resilient so as to normally engage their respective terminals 55. The contact arms are actuated by alever 6| pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in the casing and having a roller 62 at one end to engage the contact arms, and a pin and slot connection 53 at its other end with an operating lever 64 which is pivotally mounted at 55 intermediate its ends on the casing and has a roller 66 at its other end extending through an opening S' in the side wall of the guide track 2U into the path of movement of one of the guide blocks 22. The guide block 22 and the lever 65 are so related that just prior to closing of the doors the blocks 22 will swing the lever B5 in one direction, while when the block moves in the other direction during opening of the doors the lever will be actuated in the opposite direction. When the lever 65 is operated in either direction the lever 5l is operated to release one of the contact arms 58 for engagement with its corresponding terminal contact 5S and to force the other contact arm 58 out of engagement with its contact 55. A tension spring 65 connects the two levers to hold the lever 5l in the last mentioned position.

in operation of the apparatus, .assuming the doors to be closed as shown by solid lines in Figures i and 2, the manually operable switch lit will be open as shown in Figure 7. To open the doors the operator will momentarily close the switch B6 and thereupon the magnetic motor controller mechanism :il will be operated to start the motor and close the right-hand holding switch 55. Then the motor will continue to operate in one direction and drive the chains 35 so as to move the guide blocks 22 away from each other and open the doors. During this operation the selector switch :i9 will be operated by the guide block 22 so that upon the next closing of the circuit by the push button switch, the motor will be operated in the other direction. IThe spindle 5@ of the gear limit switch i8 will be driven during vthe opening movement of the doors and will have been set in known manner so that when the doors approach their full open position the contact arms 55 will be operated so as to stop the motor and at the same time set the switch for reverse operation of the motor upon the next momentary closing of the manually operable switch it.

When it is desired to close the doors, the manually operable switch 4S will again be closed,

whereupon the motor will be started in the direction opposite to that in which it moved during opening of the doors and the left-hand holding switch 55 will be closed to continue the operation of the motor when the switch t6 is released.

During the closing movement of the doors the selector switch t9 again will be actuated, and when the doors approach their closed position the gear limit switch contact arms 54 will be operated to stop the motor and set the switch for operation of the lmotor in the direction to open the doors upon the next closing of the manually operated switch 48,

It will be observed that the guide blocks 22 in conjunction with the two chains 30 in eiect form an endless chain but eliminate the complications which would be involved in attempting to utilize a true endless chain. Also the guide blocks in the track ensure a positive smooth-running operating mechanism with a minimum of moving parts. The door may be easily and conveniently operated by the simple manipulation of only one switch, which is operated in the same manner to both open and close the doors, and there is no danger of the operating mechanism being started into operation in the wrong direction. The friction clutch 4i, it ensures a stopping of the driving of the chains 3U by the motor should either door encounter an obstruction such as a person or a truck during either opening or closing of the doors.

It will he understood by those skilied in the art that if only one door is to be operated, only one guide block E2 and one chain would be required, the chain having its opposite ends connected to Athe guide block and one sprocket or guide member being located adjacent each side of the doorway.

Other types of limit switches than those described may be utilized and other electrical or mechanical methods and mechanisms may be used for operating the guide blocks 20. For example, a reversing switch mechanically operated by a lever at each limit of travel of the doors or guide blocks in combination with holding relays for controlling the circuit to the motor, such that at the limit of movement of the doors in each direction one lever would be operated to actuate the reversing switch and one of said relays to stop the motor and to cause operation of the doors in the other direction upon the next momentary closing of the manual operable switch. Another possible mechanism would include a gear limit switch which will control the now of current in each direction, in combination with relays for controlling the operation of the motor.

A modication of the invention is shown in Figures 8 and 9 where each door includes the two hinged leaves hingedly connected at 12 to the wall 13 in the same manner in which the doors shown in Figures 1 and 2 are mounted. The outer section or leaf 'I0 of each door has a guide roller 14 thereon movable in a guide rail 15, tively to the roller I6 and guide rail I 'I hereinbefore described. The rail 15 is mounted on the door frame by suitable brackets 1B and at each end thereof adjacent the point of hinging of the doors to the wall there is an arcuate portion 11 concentric with the axes of the hinges 12 and through which the corresponding roller 'I4 may move to permit swinging of the door sections completely out of the door opening 18 and into a plane parallel with the plane of the wall as shown by dot and dash lines in Figure 9.

Other modifications and changes in the details of construction of the door operating apparatus, and in the use of the door operating apparatus with other door structures, will occur to those skilled in the art as within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. A door operating apparatus comprising a horizontal track, two guide blocks spaced longitudinally of and movable toward and from each other in said track, two flexible connectors each having one end connected to one of said guide blocks and its other end connected to the other guide block, a guide for each connector around which passes the intermediate portion of said connector such that said guide ylocks are moved toward and from each other upon iongitudinal movement of either of said connectors in opposite directions respectively, and means for pivotally connecting each guide block to a door.

2. Thegdoor operating apparatus set forth in claim 1 with the addition of means for longitudinally moving said iiexible connectors.

3. The door operating apparatus set forth in 'l0 and 1|, the latter of which is .i

which corresponds respecclaim l with the addition ot a motor, mechanism for driving said flexible connectors from said motor, and means whereby said motor may be operated in either of opposite directions as desired.

4. The door operating apparatus set forth in claim l with the addition of means for longitudinally moving said liexible connectors, a Xed guide rail mounted above the doors, and means mounted on each door and engaging said rail to guide said door.

5. The door operating apparatus set forth in claim 1 with the addition of a reversible electric motor, mechanism for driving said iiexible connectors from said motor, switch mechanism including a switch for closing a circuit to cause rotation of said motor in either direction, and mechanism for automatically stopping said motor when the doors reach a predetermined position during movement in either direction.

6. A door operating apparatus comprising a horizontal split tubular track above the doors and having a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, two guide blocks spaced longitudinally of and slidably mounted in said track for movement toward and from each other, two chains wholly enclosed within said tubular track each having one end connected to one of said guide blocks and its other end connected to the other guide block, a sprocket journaled within said track for each chain and around which passes the intermediate portion of said chain such that said blocks are moved toward and from each other upon movement of either of said chains over its said sprocket in opposite directions respectively, a pin secured in each said block and projecting through said slot in said track, links each having one end pivotally connected to one of said pins and its other end to be pivotally connected to a door and means for driving one of said sprockets to move said chains and operate said doors.

7. The door operating apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said means for driving said one of said sprockets is a motor and with the addition of means whereby said motor can be operated in either of opposite directions as desired.

8. The door operating apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said means for driving said one of said sprockets is a motor and a driving connection including a spring closed friction clutch between said motor and said sprocket, said clutch being capable of yielding to stop driving of said chains upon engagement ofeither door with an obstacle, and with the addition of means whereby said motor can be operated in either of opposite directions as desired.

9. A door operating apparatus comprising a horizontal split tubular track having a longitudinal slot in one side thereof, two guide blocks spaced longitudinally of and slidably mounted in said track for movement toward and from each other, two flexible connectors wholly enclosed within said track each having one end connected to one of said guide blocks and its other end connected to the other guide block, a guide for each connector around which passes the intermediate portion of said connector such that said guide blocks are moved toward and from each other HENRY B. CLARK. 

